OKC Thunder falls to Rockets as Keyontae Johnson breaks out

Rookie Keyontae Johnson had his best game of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, but the OKC Thunder failed to salvage a win versus the Houston Rockets, 105-92, on Tuesday.

Johnson, the 50th pick of the recent draft, dropped 19 points, on 9-of-14 shooting, and five rebounds to lead the way for a Thunder team that missed the services of Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams, Tre Mann, Ousmane Dieng, and Jared Butler.

Rockets also sat Jabari Smith Jr. out, costing the fans in attendance a matchup of last year’s second overall pick Holmgren and third overall pick Smith Jr..

The OKC Thunder fell to the Houston Rockets in game two of their Summer League session out in Vegas.

Johnson — who finished with the highest plus-minus in the team at +3 — joined fellow rookie Cason Wallace as the only roster players fielded in the game for OKC.

The bruising rookie Johnson showed tenacity from up and down the court and was a superb impact player with the amount of usage he enjoyed in the game.

Wallace, however, was brought crashing back down to earth after a terrific debut in the Summer League, scoring only eight points, on a dismal 2-of-12 shooting clip, while committing a team-high five turnovers.

The Thunder were ice-cold from the three-point line, shooting just 5-of-33 (15 percent) with Wallace drilling only one of his eight outside shots.

Meanwhile, non-roster invitee for the OKC Thunder,  KJ Williams had himself a solid showing with 19 markers, on 8-of-13 field goal clip, and 13 rebounds to become a source of energy on the floor for most stretches.

Caleb McConnell also flashed potential as a defensive ace. The Undrafted guard out of Rutgers is the program’s all-time steals leader, and showed his defensive chops in this one.

On a positive note, OKC Thunder pillars Josh Giddey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, and almost the rest of the team were seen sitting court side to support the summer league squad.